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THE 

THREE LITTLE GRAVES, 




He shall gather the Lambs with His Arms, and carry 
TiiEM IN His Bosom. — Isaiah 40: 11. 



NEW YORK: ' 
BOARD OF PUBLICATION 

OF TlIK 

REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH.' 
SYNOD'S ROOMS, 6 1 FRANKLIN STREET. 

18 6 0. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 

RET. THOMAS C. STRONG, 

On behalf of the Board of Publication of the R. P. Dutch Church m 

North America, in the Clerk's Office of the District Coui't 

of the United States for the Southern District 

of New York. 



HOSFORD A CO., 

STATIONERS AND PRINTERS, 

57 and 59 William St., N. Y. 



\ 



GEEEN WOOD. 



Have you ever been, little reader, to 
Greenwood ? It is one of the loveliest, but 
saddest spots in tbe world. In summer time, 
the greenest grass grows there, the sweetest 
flowers bloom, the fairest trees point .upward 
to the sides. As you enter the beautiful gate 
you might think you were on fairy ground. 
Following the winding road, you go up one 
hill and then another, and yet another, until 
you are -almost on mountain height. And 
then you see away off in the distance the 
great city of New York, and also Brooklyn 
and Jersey City. The broad bay of New 
York lies before you, all covered and alive 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 



n 



with steamboats and sailing vessels. Then 
you look just around you, and see the most 
beautiful terraces and roads, and lovely val- 
leys, and little silver lakes. 

"What a very pleasant place this is, you 
say. Who lives here ? 

Ah ! my dear children, there are a great 
many little marble and granite houses here, 
but no one lives in them. Do you not know 
this is the place of the dead ? All around us 
there are human bodies lying. But they are 
sleeping that long sleep from which no one 
of them will awake, until the morning of the 
Resurrection. Old grandfathers and grand- 
mothers, and parents, and boys and girls, 
and tiny babes. Oh ! how many are slum- 
bering in Greenwood! They are all what 
we call dead. 

Here we are on Forest Avenue. A great 
many very grand monuments stand around 
in every direction. But we tarn from them 
all to look at Three Little Graves. They are 



THE THEEE LITTLE GRAYES. 5 

quite small. The grass of only one summer 
has grown upon them. In those graves 
three little children lie. One, when he died, 
was only eighteen months old. The second 
was a little over five years, and the third 
was nearly eight years of age. They were a 
brother and sisters, the only children of tlieir 
fond parents. 

They were all very good. They loved one 
another dearly, lived together pleasantly, 
and died one very shortly after the other. 

Erasmus Jaivies Lewis was horn Jan. 25, 
1857, and died August 7, 1858. 

Margaret Louisa Lewis was born eTime 
23, 1853, and died November 15, 1858. 

Mary Ann Augusta Lewis, was born Feb. 
10, 1850, and died Nov. 24, 1858. 

Tliere is a text of scripture wliicli says 
"The first shall be last, and the last shall be 
first." It was so with these little ones. The 
youngest, the babe, was the first to die. The 
oldest was the last. Tlieir souls, we hope, 
1^' 



6 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

have all gone to heaven, but their precious 
dust is gathered here in Greenwood. It is 
all in one place, so that their young friends 
can strew flowers at the same time over all 
their graves. The same angels can guard 
them, and at last they can together arise to 
live forever with Jesus in glory. 

Would you like to hear about this family 
of children ? I think you would, for their 
history, although short, is very interesting. 



^asmtts |am£^ "^tiau. 



This was a little babe. But although 
young, he was a wonderful child. In his 
look there was something peculiar, and 
sometimes heavenly. He learned to walk 
when less than a year old. After that he 
would often run to his mother in the even- 
ing, v/hen she was hearing the older children 
say their prayers. Sitting on her lap, he 
would close his eyes, clasp his liands and 
remain perfectly silent until they were 
through. And then, jumping down, he 
would go to his play again. 



8 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

One da}^, during the last week of his life, 
his mother found him lying in his bed, with 
his hands raised and joined together, and his 
eyes lifted to heaven, as if he was praying. 
The next day she saw the same thing again. 
He was but an infant, but such can praise 
God. The Bible says : " Out of the mouths 
of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected 
praise." 

Dear little Razzie^ as he was generally 
called, was sick only a few days. God came 
and took him to heaven. His ]3arents knew 
he was happy, but they and his sisters and 
others were full of sorrow, because the 
good little baby boy was gone from then* 
sight. 

Tliere is the first grave. See how little it 
is. Let us now .look at the second. 



[arpr^t ^n\m f ^tois. 



This dear child was very young when she 
died — younger perhaps than the little boy or 
girl who is now reading this story. 

She was a very lively creature, always 
laughing and playing. Like a pleasant sun- 
beam that shines in at the window, she made 
the house seem bright, and all in it very 
happy. No one could look at the playful 
child, or hear her constant prattle, without 
loving her. 

Maggie was very ambitious. Little as 
she was, she wanted to do something, and 
to be regarded as somebody. And this was 



10 THE THREE LITTLE GEAYES. 

right. So ev^ry one should feel. To show 
you how this spirit was manifested by this 
little girl, I will tell you a fact. One day, 
when she was too sick to go to school, or 
even to leave the house, her older sister 
brought home from school a very pretty cer- 
tificate. Maggie liked the looks of it, and 
knew that it was for good behavior and 
scholarship, and so she exclaimed : " Sister, 
I do n't see why I can't have one too." 

She was very aifectionate. Sometimes 
her mother would say to her, as the older 
sister hung upon her neck : " See how Mary 
loves mother." Then little Maggie would 
spring forward quickly, and joining her sis- 
ter in the embrace, would say, with great 
tenderness : " So do I." 

Although very lively, she was a thought- 
ful child. Visiting at an uncle's house over 
one Sabbath day, she noticed that he, for 
some cause, did not attend church in the 
At the dinner they all asked a 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 11 

blessing in silence, as they were used to do- 
ing, and the uncle had his eyes closed longer 
than the others at the table. When he was 
through, the sweet little prattler said, in 
half play, half earnest : " I 'spect, uncle 
William, you thought you would say a little 
more grace because you didn't go to 
church." 

When they were returning home from the 
baby's funeral, Margaret asked her mother 
this question : " Mother, if I had died, would 
you cry so ?" '' Yes," was the reply, " for I 
love all my children." " But I do n't want 
you to do so," she said. " It will make you 
sick." 

It was only two months after that time, 
when the dear little girl, whom every body 
loved, was taken very ill. Her father and 
mother could not bear to think of losing 
their darling child. So they nursed her 
very carefully, and called to her bed-side 
some of our best doctors, and prayed to God 



12 THE THUEE LITTLE GRAVES. 

earnestly. But it was all in vain. God 
wanted the sweet flower in the heavenly 
garden, and so he sent his angels to bear her 
away. She knew she was dying, and jnst 
before she breathed her last, in a whisper, 
she said : " I 'ni going home to meet my 
brother." 

" I 'm going home to meet my brother/' 
He is an angel now, 
And Maggie soon will be another, 

Before the throne to bow. 
Weep not for me, dear father, mother. 
And sister Mary, dear, 
^^I'm going home to meet my brother,'* 
I must not tarry here. 



THE THKEE LITl'LE GKAVES. 



13 







2 



Inu ^\\\x Jittptsta f itois. 



We now come, my clear little readers, to 
the tliird grave of Avliicli we have spoken. 
In it is resting the body of the oldest, and, 
w^hen she died, the only child of Mr. and 
Mrs. Lewis. Mary seemed very well when 
her sister Maggie died, but it was only nine 
days after that when she followed her. 

This sweet little girl was nearly eight 
years old ; very yonng to die, but old enough 
to be very interesting. I have many things 
to tell you about her that are very pleasant. 
You will read carefully what I waite, I hope, 



16 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

SO that you can take little Mary as your ex- 
ample. 

MARY A GOOD CHILD. 

Do you know what it is to be good ? I 
will tell you. It is to love and serve God. 
ifow, this no one can do until he has a new 
heart given him. 

Mary, like all other children, had by 
nature a wicked heart, and this wicked heart 
led her to do some naughty things, for which 
she was afterwards very sorry. 

You remember the story of Adam and 
Eve, our first parents. When they first 
came into this world, they were perfectly 
holy. But after a while they ate of the for- 
bidden fruit, and then they became sinful. 
And all their children — all the race of men 
— are, and have been, like them in this 
thing. All children now living are sinful 
by nature. They are like their parents. 
Solomon says : " Foolishness is bound up in 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 17 

the heart of a child." David declared: 
"Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in 
sin did my mother conceive me." You may 
not fully understand this, but, dear children, 
it is a great truth which you must believe, 
because God teaches it, and every one can 
see and feel it. 

But I think God very soon made Mary's 
heart good, just as I think he did her little 
sister's and brother's. God can make chil- 
dren good, and often does. All those that 
die in infancy he makes fit for the kingdom 
of heaven. And some that live he makes 
holy when they are quite young. You 
know that Jesus died for poor sinners, and 
his blood cleanses from all sin. And if God 
pleases, he can take that precious blood and 
with it wash the little heart. 

This He did for Mary. Perhaps she did 
not know when or how. This we cannot al- 
ways tell. But if you go to God in prayer, 
and ask him to make you good for Jesus' 
2^ 



18 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

sake, He will hear you. And if you really 
wish to be good. He Avill not only hear but 
answer you, and give you the blessing you 
ask for. This Mary did. Will you not go 
right away to God in prayer, that, like this 
little girl, you may be good and happy ? 

A REMARKABLE CHILD. 

There was something very peculiar about 
Mary. Her Sabbath school teacher said she 
was not surprised to hear of her death, al- 
though she w^as sick only a few days. So 
heavenly was she in her appearance and 
talk, that she did not seem to be long for 
this world. Her blue eyes were often turned 
to heaven, as if they received their color 
from the sky, and her words were ever about 
Jesus. 

Even her mother says, although she had 
but little thought of ever losing her chil- 
dren when they were all around her, yet she 
felt that if she had to part with either, it 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 19 

would be Maiy. She was too holy a child 
to stay long on earth. 

FIRST BUDDINGS OF PIETY. 

Did you ever watch the rose bushes early 
in the season ? They straiten up and begin 
to look green, and by-and-by little leaves are 
formed, and after a while little bunches will 
appear. These will grow larger and larger, 
until at length one gently bursts, and then 
yon see a little red flower just trying to peep 
out of its cell. This we call a bud. 

Now, when Mary was like that tiny bud — 
when she was a flower only three years old, 
and not yet able to read, one day she came 
to her mother, and wished her to read to her 
from the Bible. ''"What shall I read about?" 
inquired her mother. " O, about God and 
Christ," was her reply. 



20 



THE THKEE LITTLE GEAVES. 




She was always very fond of looking at 
the moon and stars, and often said she 
wished she was there. Sometimes she wonld 
get up at night from her little bed, and go 
to the window to look out. And when 
asked what she was doing, she would an- 
swer: "I am looking at the moon and 
stars." She thought that somewhere up 
there was heaven, and there she knew that 



22 THE THEEE LITTLE GRAVES. 




THE THREE LITTLE GEAYES. 23 

God and Christ, and the holy angels, and all 
good people were living. 

And not only did she love to seethe sky. 
with its pretty lights at night, she also was 
delighted to behold the beautiful things of 
earth. " O, I wish we lived in the country,'" 
she would exclaim. "Why do you desire 
this, my child?" " Because there I can see 
the flowers, and feed the chickens, and God 
could see me better there." Perhaps she 
meant that she could see God better there, 
for you know he can see us everywhere. 

Walking in the country one day with an 
uncle, she stopped to gather some wild flow- 
ers growing by the way side. Her uncle 
asked her why she cared to pick such com- 
mon flowers? "They are the best I can 
get," was her reply, and then she beautifully 
added, " God made them grow." 

When she was in the fourth year of her 
age, she was at one time very sick, and her 
friends stood by her bedside weeping, sup- 



24: THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

posing that she was dying. And then, with 
ber mind all at rest, and with veiy sweet 
tones of voice, she sang that pretty hymn 
which every good child knows and loves : 

" There is a happy land 

Far, far away ; 
Where saints in glory stand, 

Bright, bright as day. 
0, we shall happy be, 

When from sin and sorrow free; 
Lord, we shall live with thee, 

Blest, blest for aye." 



»5 



Whether sick or well, dying or living 
little Mary seemed to be all the while think- 
ing of her home in heaven. 

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE. 

This sweet child v/as generally very 
obedient. She loved her parents and. teach- 
ers, and tried to do not only just what they 
told her to do, bat also what she knew they 
wanted her to do. 



THE THREE LITTLE GEAYES. 25 

At one time she suffered mucli with a pain 
in her ear. Her mother asked : " What 
shall I do for yon, Mary ?" " O, any thing, 
mother," she said, and looked as if she would 
add: ^'You know best, I leave it all with 
you." This is what we call confidence. 
And good little children not only have this 
confidence in their parents, but also in Christ, 
who saves them from their sins. The fond 
mother was pleased to find her child so lov- 
ing and trusting, and said to her : " What 
would you do without me ?" This question 
filled Mary's heart with tenderness and her 
eyes with tears. She replied: ''Don't ask 
me, mother dear, it would bre.ak my heart to 
do without you." 

One day, during the sickness of her little 
brother Erasmus, Mary and her younger sis- 
ter Maggie were called to come and nurse 
him for a little while. Child like, they 
wanted to play, and so stopped for a few 
moments. This was very wrong. Children 
3 



26 



THE THREE LITTLE GRATES. 







sliould obey at once when their parents 
speak. They should not wait a niinnte. 
Soon the mother of these little girls said to 
them in reproof, ^' It may be God will take 
little brother away." This was enough. They 
both at once left their play, and springing 
to the side of the little babe, did all they 
could to amuse him. Presently, Mary, with a 
troubled look said, " He wont die now, will 
he, mother ?" But he did die. Not because 
his sisters had been remiss perhaps, but God 
wanted him in heaven. And a little while 
after his death, Mary was reminded of her 



J 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. ^ 27 

neglect in not going at once to play with her 
little brother. Instantly the dear child burst 
into tears, and cried out in her sorrow, 
" Do n't tell me that again, or you will break 
my heart." Little reader, do you feel bad, 
when you remember that you have done 
wrong ? If you do, go to Jesus, and ask him 
to make you good again. 

SHE PITIED THE POOR. 

Mary Lewis not only loved her father and 
mother and other dear friends. She also 
loved those she did not know. She felt a 
regard for the poor. How many boys and 
girls run about the streets of our large city, 
who are often hungry and almost naked. 
You often see them, and I hope are sorry for 
them. Mary was. She saved her pennies, 
tliat many children would have spent for 
foolish things, that she might give them to 
the suffering poor. At one time, when she 
saw a little beggar, she exclaimed, " Ma, 



28 THE THREE LITTLE GRATES. 

is n't it too bad that that poor little girl has 
no bed, no home ? Wont you let her come 
here? She can sleep with me. We will 
wash her and make her clean." 

A LITTLE PREACHER. 

We ought, dear little friends, not only to 
be good onrselves, but also to try to make 
others good. Don't you think so? We 
have seen that Mary was generally very care- 
ful to do herself what was right. Now let us 
notice what she did to lead other children in 
the good way. When playing with boys 
and girls of her own age, she would some- 
times hear them speak falsehoods, or see 
them strike one another in anger. At such 
times she would also tell them they did very 
wrong, and beg them to stop and never do 
so again. " Do n't you know that God hears 
and sees you ?" she once said to some naughty 
boys. This she spoke very earnestly, at the 
same time pointing her finger to heaven. 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 29 

What a sermon was this ! I do not know 
whether it was felt and heeded by the wicked 
children. But if it was not, it showed how 
Mary hated sin. We too, my dear children, 
may all learn to hate evil. We often see it, 
and whenever we can we should speak 
against it. But if we cannot sometimes 
say a word to stop it, we can always feel 
sorry, and pray God to make the bad people 
good. 

LITTLE MART IN THE SABBATH SCHOOL. 

We have seen our little friend with her 
young companions at play. We have seen 
her at her pleasant home. Let us now look 
at her in the Sabbath school. 

To her this seemed the most delightful 
spot on earth. Oftentimes, on Saturday 
evening, she would run to the window just 
before going to her bed, and anxiously look 
up into the heavens. ''Why do you look out 
so earnestly, Mary," some one asks. " I want 



30 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

to see whether it will be pleasant to-morrow, 
so that I can go to Sabbath school," was her 
reply. If the sky was cloudy, she would ap- 
pear troubled. But if it was clear, and she 
could see the pretty twinkling stars, she would 
look very happy. She loved her home, and all 
the dear ones there, and well she might, for 
every body and every thing there was plea- 
sant. Yet the Sabbath was a tedious day to 
her if she could not go to the Sabbath 
school. If the day was stormy, and the 
walking bad, she would say she was sure no 
one would get sick in going to Sabbath 
school. The second Sabbath before her 
death, she was" quite unwell. The last sick- 
ness was beginning to take hold of her body. 
But she could not be induced to stay at 
home. Not being able to go so far as to her 
own Sabbath school, she went to one nearer 
l)y, and seemed to enjoy the exercises very 
much. 

In the school she used to attend, there is a 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 31 

missionary society. One object of this so- 
ciety is to raise money to help support the 
missionaries, and to send the Word of God 
to those who are perishing in ignorance and 
sin. Mary was very much interested in this 
society. She had promised to bring a penny 
every Sabbath to put in the box. If she 
happened to forget it, as she sometimes did, 
she would go home feeling quite bad, and 
would say respectfully to her mother, ""Why 
did you let me go wdthout my missionary 
money ?" And all the week she would grieve 
that she had neglected to give in her usual 
ojffering. Dear little reader, are you so care- 
ful ? You know the good missionaries can- 
not live without we give them money to 
support them, and the heathen cannot be 
taught the precious truth about Jesus, un- 
less we send them the Bible. So do not for- 
get to take your pennies. Whatever you 
can give, try to give it regularly. If you 
and all the other boys and girls in the school 



32 THE THREE LITTLE GRATES. 

do this, the missionary society will always 
be able to make a good report. And then 
your Sabbath school will be like a lamp 
shining in a dark place. It will be like a 
spring that sends out its streams on every 
side to make the earth beautiful. And if 
^ you do this, and like little Mary, with your 
money offer fervent prayers to God, for the 
poor heathen, then you will yourself be a lit- 
tle missionary, and perhaps save a great 
many souls. 

This interesting child, of whom I am tell- 
ing you, not only loved to go to Sabbath 
school, but she also was careful always to go 
prepared to recite her lessons. And besides 
the regular lessons, which the other little 
girls in her class learned, she of her own ac- 
cord began to commit to memory the four- 
teenth chapter of the Gospel according to 
John. Every Sabbath she came to school 
prepared to repeat to her teacher five or six 
verses. She had learned before her last sick- 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 33 

ness twenty-four verses, and could say them 
all perfectly. Do n't you think this was well 
for such a little girl ? 

And these words of the Saviour seemed to 
her very lovely. After repeating them she 
would go back and talk about them. '^7?^ 
my Father^s house are many inansionsP 
" That means, teacher," she would say, 
" there are many beautiful places in heaven." 
"Zet not your heart he troubled P "Why 
should we ?" she would exclaim. " Jesus 
will make all things happen for our good." 
Dear child ! her faith was stronger than that 
of many grown up Christians. When she 
read that the apostle Thomas said, " We hnow 
not the way^'' she said that was very wrong 
in Thomas. He ought to know Christ would 
not tell an untruth. She did not much ad- 
mire that apostle because of his unbelief. 
^^If 1 go not away^ the Comforter will not 
comeP This passage gave her some trouble. 
She could not quite understand its meaning. 



34 THE THREE LITTLE GEAVES. 

Thus, this dear child would talk about Scrip- 
ture, just as if she was an old Christiau, tell- 
ing what she thought, and asking about what 
she could not understand. And snrelj she 
was right in so doing. Why has God given 
to us minds, if we are not to use tliem ? And 
what can be more interesting for us to read 
and talk about than the Word of God! 
What can be more useful for us to know, 
than that truth which comes to us from the 
Great Jehovah ? I hope all my little read- 
ers love the Bible, and read, and study, and 
talk about it. 

Little Mary had a good memory, and this 
enabled her to commit scripture verses easily, 
and to remember them well. If God has 
given to you a good memory, you cannot use 
it better than in storing your mind with 
Bible truth. What you commit when you 
are young, you will remember the longest. 
I know a good old gentleman, who is now 
almost blind, so that he cannot read a word. 



THE TKREE LITTLE GEAYES. 35 

and probably never will. He says lie studied 
the Bible when he was a child, and he has 
been studying it all his life long. And now 
he can repeat verse after verse and chapter 
after chapter. Don't you think, now that 
he is blind, he is glad he read and studied 
so much when he was able to see ? One day 
he told his minister, he thought if all the 
Bibles in the world should be lost, he could 
almost make one up again from memory. 
Study this good book now. It will be a 
blessing to you in life, and fit you for death 
and a happy eternity. 

HOW TO BE SAVED. 

And Mary had the truth in her heart as 
well as in her mind. One Sabbath she said 
to her teacher, ''I know why Jesus came 
into the world. He came to save sinners. 
We are all sinners, and must all die. But if 
we trust in Jesus we will live again." There 
was nothing particular to call forth this re- 



36 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

mark, Tlie good teaclier and scholar were 
sitting togetlier in silence, jnst before tlie 
exercises of the Sabbath school were opened. 
Tliis shows the great feeling of her mind. 
All the while she was thinking of Jesus. 
His name was mnsic to her ear. She loved 
to hear it, and speak it, and hymns which 
contained that name, and were about the 
dear Saviour, she loved above all others. 

My dear boy or girl, do you know why 
Jesus came into the world? Do you feel that 
you are a sinner ? Do you trust in Jesus that 
you may be saved ? 

HYMlNS. 

I must tell you something more about 
Mary's favorite hymns. This dear little girl 
was very fond of music. She loved the 
sweet tones of the piano and organ, and 
would listen for hours, if she could, to the 
pleasant sound. She was also very fond o^. 
singing, and was never better pleased than 



THE THREE LITTLE GRATES. 37 

when joining with others in the sweet melo- 
dies she had learned in the Sabbath and 
week day school. 

But further than this, she had a fine ear 
for poetry. The Sabbath school hymns were 
her delight. Sometimes she would weary 
her friends in repeating them. A great fa- 
vorite with her w^as a hymn called ''^ All 
fullness in Christ. " Perhaps you have read 
it, and so I will only give here one of the 
four pretty verses : 

" I lay my sins on Jesus, 

The spotless Lamb of God ; 
He bears them all and frees us 

From the accursed load. 
I bring my guilt to Jesus, 

To wash my crimson stains 
White in His blood most precious, 

'Till not a spot remains." 

This hymn she found in the Child's Paper 
of September, 1858, which was given her in 
the Sabbath school. She folded the paper 
4 



38 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

and put it carefully away, and often referred 
to tlie beantiful hymn it contained. And 
well she might, for the hymn exactly ex- 
pressed the feelings of her soul. Every word 
of it she could repeat as coming from her 
heart. 

It was a common practice for her to cut 
out of the papers little pieces of poetry 
which peculiarly pleased her. As I now 
write this little history, there lies on my table 
a piece called '-''- The OrpharCs Reverie;''^ 
another " The Bird of Heaven^^'^ and another 
" The Music of the SouV These, Mary, 
with her own little fingers, cut from different 
papers, and her parents value them very 
highly, because they were so often handled 
and read by her. 



Have you ever thought what you would 
like to be or to do when you get big, if God 
is pleased to spare your life ? Mary said slie 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 39 

wanted to be a teaclier, botli in the Sabbath 
and week day school. She was all the time 
studying that she might, if God pleased, be 
able to instruct others. This was a good and 
noble thought, especially for a little girl only 
seven years old. We cannot but feel sad 
that this wish was not granted. We think 
little Mary Lewis would have done much 
good had she lived. But God knows best, 
and He saw fit to take this dear child early 
to heaven. 

We now come to the saddest and yet the 
most interesting part of our story, the ac- 
count of the last illness and death of our 
little friend? 

DEATH APPROACHING. 

After her little brother's death, Mary said, 
" Eazzie will be cold now. He w^ill have no 
one to dress him." She did not like the 
thought of putting his body in the ground. 

But when her sister Maggie was buried, 



40 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

she did not seem to think of this, but asked, 
" Where are the flowers ? " She expected to 
see some around the grave, and was disap- 
pointed in finding none there. Her mother, 
with a heart full of grief, said to her, " If we 
live until next spring we will come and plant 
some flowers here." But the little girl shook 
her head. Perhaps an angel whispered to 
her then, that in a few days she too would 
be lying there. 

On the day after her sister's funeral in the 
morning, before she was dressed, her affec- 
tionate mother came to her bed-side, and 
throwing her arms around her only darling's 
neck, exclaimed, " You won't leave me too, 
as Maggie did, will you ? " The reply of the 
little girl will never be forgotten. Returning 
the embrace, she said, as the tears gathered 
in her eyes, "I do n't want to leave you, 
mother dear. But you know, that when our 
Father calls us, we must go to meet Him in 
the ' promised land.' " It was only a Sab- 



THE THREE LITTLE GEAYES. 41 

bath or two before, that she had learned in 
the Sabbath school the sweet hymn to which 
she alluded : 

" I have a Fatlier in the promised land, 
My Father calls me, I must go 
To meet Him in the promised land." 

The beloved child evidently had some idea 
that her time was short. 

On that same day, the day after her sister's 
funeral, which happened to be on Thanks- 
giving day, she said to her mother, " I want 
to tell you v/hat I saw. I saw God, and 
Jesus Christ standing by His side." This 
certainly was a very strange thing for a 
little girl to say. If you will open the New 
Testament, and turn to the 7th chapter of 
the Acts of the Apostles, you will read that 
Stephen, who was stoned to death because 
he loved Christ and preached about him, had 
just such a sight as Mary said she had. Let 
us read the words. " But he," (that is Steph- 
4-^ 



42 THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 

en), " being full of the Holy Ghost, looked 
lip steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory 
of God, and Jesus standing on the right 
hand of God, and said. Behold I see the hea- 
vens opened, and the Son of man standing 
on tlie right hand of God." What a blessed, 
glorious view was that ! All ! Mary, like the 
good Stephen of old, was near tlie happy 
land, and a chariot was ready to carry her to 
her heavenly home. 

SICKNESS. 

For several years Mary had been troubled 
w^Ith a catarrh in her head, and the physicians 
think it was that disease which caused her 
death. 

Almost immediately after Maggie's death 
she was taken sick. And what seems very 
strange, although they died very close one 
to the other, Mary, and Maggie, and Eazzie 
died of different diseases. 

As you may suppose, the parents felt very 



Til JO THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 43 

bad when tlieir only remaining cliild was 
taken sick. Looking into the face of the 
sweet child, her mother asked, ''Do you love 
me, Mary?" With great earnestness she 
replied, " Yes, I love all the goodP 

As we have already said, she always had 
shown great aiFection for her parents and 
other dear friends. During the short sick- 
ness which ended in deatli, she wanted to 
hold the hand of her mother or her Sabbath 
school teacher all the time, and her love to 
them seemed to increase to the last. 

One day her ever watchful mother was 
leaning over her, and wished to give her 
some medicine. Looking up very express- 
ively into her face, the child inquired, 
" Why? " The reply was, '' I want to make 
you better." At once she said, " You can't 
make me better." The impression on her 
mind was that she would die. 

The day before her deatli, she said rather 
abruptly, "I am well." So hap]\y was she 



4A: THE THIREE LITTLE GEAVES. 

in her mind, that she felt there was Dothing 
the matter with her. And yet all the while 
she was expecting death. 

On the last day of her life, a dear young 
friend asked her, ^^ Are you happy ? ' ' She 
spoke no words in answer to this question. 
But turning her eyes toward heaven, a plea- 
sant smile lit up her face. 

Only two hours before she breathed her 
last, the dying child said she saw her grand- 
mother Lewis. Betore Mary was born, this 
grandmother had died in the room next to 
that in which the little girl theu was. She 
had often heard about her grandma, aud 
where and how she died. So getting out of 
the chaii- in which she was reclining, the 
child seemed trying to go to her sainted 
grandmother. ^vSee, Mama, she is way up 
there,'' she said, pointing to the ceiling. She 
then touched the door, and disappointed, 
said, " Mama, why is that wood ? TThy is it 
not grandma ? " After she was gently car- 



THE THKEE LITTLE GRAVES. 45 

ried back to the chair, she said she saw 
white tilings, thev were S3 beautifiil, and all 
around, and then she tried to catch them. I 
suppose she was at this time what people call 
'* out of the head." But her mind was evi- 
dently more on heaven than earth. 

DEATH. 

We •now see ilary dying. Joy is in her 
face. In an exstacy she cries out, '* Maggie, 
sister Mary wil> soon be with you, dear." 
Her mother asks, '• Can you see Maggie ? " 
With distinctness and emphasis she replies, 
'* Tes, Margaret Louisa is an angel in heaven, 
and I too am oroino; to be one soon." 

These were her hast words. Soon she fell 
into a peaceful slumber. Shorter and shorter 
grew hei>' breath, and paler her face, until 
she slept the sleep ot' death. Her body 
lies in the grave in Greenwood, beside her 
brother and sister. We hope that noth- 



46 THE THEEE LITTLE GRAVES. 

ing will disturb these Three Little Graves, 
until the voice of Jesus, at the great resur- 
rection, calls those beloved forms to arise 
again. They will then come forth in new 
beauty, and rise to be forever with the Lord. 
But even now, we hope the souls of these 
dear children are in heaven. And how happy 
they are there ! No more sickness or death. 
No more sorrow or sin. Jesus has wiped 
every stain from their hearts and every tear 
from their eyes. Each one sii|s like a king on 
his throne. A crown is on his head. A harp 
of gold is in his hand, and with myriads df 
the young and old, of angels and men, each 
one sings the everlasting song, " Worthy the 
Lamb." 

The following pretty lines have been writ- 
ten on the death of little Mary Lewis, by an 
aunt : 



THE THREE LITTLE GRAVES. 47 

Thoiigli thy freslmess and beauty are laid in. the tomb, 
Like the flowret which droops in its verdure and bloom; 
Though the halls of thy childhood now mourn thee in 
vain, 

And thy strains will ne'er waken their echoes again ; 
Still o'er the fond memory they silently glide ; 
Still, still thou art cherished, our joy and our pride. 
Sing on thou pure seraph, with harmony crowned ; 
Through the broad arch of heaven thy notes shall re- 
sound, 
And pour the full tide of thy music along, 
While a bright choir of angels reechoes the song. 
The pure elevation which beamed from thine eye, 
As it turned to it's home in yon azure sky, 
Told of something unearthly : it shone with the light 
Of pure inspiration and holy delight. 
" Round the rose that is withered a fragrance remains , 
O'er beauty in ruins the mind proudly reigns." 
May spring's fairest bud o'er thy resting place wave, 
As the sigh of deep anguish breathes over thy grave! 
But thy spirit has mounted to regions on high — 
To the throne of its God where it never can die. 



MAEY'S HYMNS. 



§11 iulhm m €\xul 
I. 

I lay my sins on Jesus, 

That spotless Lamb of God ; 
He bears tliem all and frees us 

From tlie accursed load. 
I bring my guilt to Jesus, 

To wash my crimson stains 
White, in his blood most precious, 

'Till not a spot remains. 

II. 

I lay my wants on Jesus ; 

All fullness dwells in Him ; 
He heals all my diseases, 

He doth my soul redeem. 
I lay my griefs on Jesus, 

My burden, and my cares ; 
He from them all releases, 

He all my sorrow shares. 



60 THE THREE LITTLE GKAVES. 

Ill 

I rest jny soul on Jesus, . 

This weary soul of mine ; 
His right hand me embraces, 

I on His breast recline. 
I love the name of Jesus, 

Immanuel, Christ, the Lord ; 
Like fragrance on the breezes 

His name abroad is poured. 

lY. 

I long to be like Jesus, 

Meek, loving, lo^ly, mild ; 
I long to be like Jesus, 

The Father's holy child : 
I long to be with Jesus 

Amid the heavenly throng. 
To sing with saints His praises. 

To learn the angels' song. 



H. BONAR. 



I 



By Amanda T. Jones. 



There is a music soft and low, 
That dwelleth in the soul, 

And ever there in secrecy 
Its untaught numbers roll, 

It hath no words, but 0, it bears 
The raptured soul along, 

As though the atmosphere around 
Were tremulous with song. 

It hath a wilder, sweeter sound 
Tlian all Earth's melodies ; 

Its dwelling place is in the heart. 
Its birth place in the skies. 

And like a far off anthem scroll, 

It chimeth ever there; 
And on its unseen wing it bears 

The burden of a prayer. 



52 THE THKEE LITTLE GRAVES. 

All throiigli the long and weary day 

Its dreamy mnrmurs flow, 
Chanting afar within the soul 

A requiem, sad and low. 

The eye may flash with angry light, 
The lip wear falsehood's smile ; 

Yet the sad music of the soul 
Swells softly all the while. 

For ever sweeping through the heart 

Those holy murmurings are, 
Unheard, but felt, as melodies 

Roll on from star to star. 

When night, the solemn, dewy-eyed, 

Call the lone soul to prayer, 
Then all Earth's music melts away 

Like discord on the air. 

And in its dim cathedral sits 

The dark and troubled soul, 
And wondering hears through nave and aisle, 

Its own wild music roll. 

O, very dear to earth-worn hearts. 
Are those wild heaven-born lays; 

Fresh from our spirit-home they come 
And teach us love and praise. 



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